Katrin Korfmann

Katrin Korfmann, Bare Context (EN)

It is interesting to think of how the relationship between a work of art and its frame, or its context, has evolved. If we take a look back there was a time when the selection of a frame (the physical frame of a bi-dimensional work) and the mounting was fundamental for the painter or for the collector. Or we may recall how the noblemen hired artists to design pictures for a specific room in their houses, for the library, for the smoking or the dining room, or even for the garden. On the other hand, it is true that art has moved several times through history, from caves to temples, to the interior of noble residencies, and from there to museums, galleries and urban spaces.

Although this relationship frame-work has existed from the moment in which man started producing art (let’s recall the koan, “How can you describe the sound of a falling tree if there is nobody to listen to it?”), the discussion about this is much more recent. It might have been initiated by the invention of the ready-made. From the moment that the criteria expanded to the point of which any object may be categorized as an artwork by the artist´s decision, it became necessary to define the elements of this simple choice for it to have a response in the art world...